Life and times of an astrophysist who is actually a former journalism student who is really a NERD nerdy retarded weird girl pretending to be an astrophysisist...mispelling INTENDED!


NERD nerdy retarded weird girl central...well mostly my mussings and random interludes whilst I am working towards getting a car and licence so my random adventures and time spent in Australia was worth while. It should be intersting Enjoy! While in Australia...I was sunburnt,went to Sydney and wrote my first novel. So far back in Canadia I have been couch hoping and meandering from city to city. More adventures to come. Hopefully they are as interesting as my Australia ones.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Resignation! Me and Mormonism Part 2

I am officially sending a resignation letter some time this week to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I await the results with much anxiety. I know there are others who are going through a similar process. It’s taken some time to write what I want to say…Thanks to the Internet and supportive friends from my church there were plenty of resources to aid me in this. I may not be fully Christian but at least I know I will no longer have to be tied to something I have long since rejected.

I suggest you visit these sites for further reference: It is actually quite interesting.

ExMormon.org

Leaving the church...by Richard Packham

Name removal and such...

Here is my letter as follows: Any input would be lovely, but not necessary. And for anyone out there this may help as an example of what the letter should look like and what needs to be include.

Dear Sirs,

This letter is to you officially inform you of my resignation from membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, effective immediately. With my resignation I voluntarily sever all my relationship to the church.

I have not attended Church regularly since I was 13. In fact I was only an active member for a few months after my baptism in April 1998 whilst I was living in Lethbridge Alberta Canada. I soon fell away from it after I realised it was not for me.

The truth is I don’t know if I believed The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. Never once did I fully read The Book of Mormon, except Sunday school. The missionaries who taught me encouraged me to pray with sincerity concerning the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, citing a verse in its closing book: Moroni 10:4.

I never read past 1Nephi. I had no desire to read it. That should have been a sign to me right there the church was not right for me, but as I had a desire to please my family and find a way to Jesus at the time I felt it was the right thing to do.

Sadly I never had a testimony of The Church or Joseph Smith, which is paramount to the LDS faith but I do have a testimony of Jesus Christ, which is what I believe to be much more substantial to my salvation. I am building a foundation for a relationship and my faith in Him is growing. Since beginning my journey to fully know Him learning the truth of Christianity I believe it’s important to sever my ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

I assure you that I do not take this step lightly. I have devoted a good deal of thought, prayer and study, over a considerable period of time, (which for me was 10 years!) to this matter, and I am firm and irreversible in my decision to end my membership and I will not change my mind.

I therefore request you to make the necessary changes in the church membership records to indicate that I am no longer a member. I am familiar with the procedures as outlined in the Church Handbook of Instructions, and I request that you fill out and forward the necessary administrative forms as soon as possible. I am aware that according to church doctrine this cancels all blessings, baptisms, ordinations, promises, covenants, and my hope of exaltation in the celestial kingdom, and I have made my decision with that consideration well in mind.

I request that no one representing the church contact me for any reason other than to confirm that my request is being processed. Please state the "reason for leaving." "At member's request" or "Doctrinal reasons," since that is my reason. I am not leaving the church because of some personal matter or insult, or because I have "sinned" or am unable to "keep the commandments.

I request that my name removal request be forwarded to the stake president in accordance with the Church Handbook of Instructions. Please inform him that I waive the thirty-day waiting period during which the stake president may hold the request in order to give me the opportunity to revoke. Please ask the stake president if possible to notify me when he has forwarded my request to church headquarters if possible.

I have friends and family who are Latter Day Saints and I hold no ill will towards them, so please do not take this letter as a personal attack towards your faith. This has weighed heavily on my conscience for many years and I feel it’s not fair to be a member of a faith I do not truly believe in. By severing ties I feel I will be able to see Jesus for who he truly is.

Thank you for your courtesy in honouring my request

Yours truly,

Melissa

I shall keep you updated…

4 comments:

princessjo1988 said...

Well said Melissa. I am very proud of you for getting to this place.

I hope you find a good healthy spiritual niche for yourself (and yourself alone). I think you are well on your way there. Keep fighting. Stay true to yourself.

Much love,
Jo

Anonymous said...

well said and hpefully, fully appreciated by the people it is directed to!

Lidia said...

really nice letter Miss Melissa!

Tristopher said...

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Melissa,

Your decision sounds like a good one, well-thought out and long considered. I think I can sympathize with the anxiety you're feeling - the other day I fired off a rather harsh e-mail to an employment agency I was hooked up with due to the motivational messages they tried to teach me and I felt very sheepish when I met with the girl who's been watching over me the next day. :-P I'm sure you'll get along fine.

C/T and MLM